Tuesday mornings may signal a leisurely start for students, but their teachers spend the first part of that day each week sharpening their teaching skills and honing their educational strategies in the newly established Westminster Institute. Recent sessions have tackled:

• Bullies and Boasters (on student-to-student intimidation)
• Strategies for tapping into the multiple intelligences and various learning styles of our students
• Cultural knowledge base issues
• Techies and Fuzzies (a session on technology applications in the classroom).

Many of our faculty members are taking the opportunity to share with their colleagues the results of seminars and university classes they have recently pursued, establishing the practice of teachers teaching their fellow teachers.

Future Westminster Institutes will cover planning sessions on the School Vision Statement, strategies to use in helping learning-disabled students, understanding and filling the teacher's role in loco parentis, and discussions on how to develop a sense of professionalism among our students. Several sessions will focus on completing a long-term curriculum mapping project that will give Westminster a basis from which to fine tune our coordinated Pre-K through 12th grade curriculum.

Thanks to all you parents who make this time possible. Your students will benefit directly by this opportunity to share expertise among the faculty.